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Gay marriage is a losing issue for Republicans - it reminds me of Willie Brown when he was speaker of the California Assembly saying that busing was the kiss of death as an issue for black politicians, and they should stop talking about it. First of all, every poll shows that support for gay marriage is inversely related to age - younger voters support it even more strongly than older voters, and there is an interesting fact about younger voters, they are going to be voting for more elections.

Second, if conservatives are truly interested in states’ rights, they should be consistent - marriage is a state issue and there should not be a Federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Third, opposing gay marriage makes Republicans look small-minded and bigoted - why should people be denied rights because of their sexuality? The parallels with (past) laws preventing interracial marriage make the party look bad.

Fourth, there is no evidence at all that gay marriage, unlike smoking, has any negative social externalities. In fact, the evidence is in the opposite direction, with children of gay couples doing well. Any issue that brings Boies and Olsen together is not one that sensible people should oppose.

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